Mousseline au Chocolat

We are week 2 of the countdown of what would have been Julia Child's 100th birthday. To continue with the celebration this week we are making Chocolate Mousse - Mousseline au chocolat.  The recipe can be found in Volume 1 - Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

I am part of the JC100 project and this project involves restaurants, chefs, bookstores, and bloggers, all celebrating Julia and her legacy. If our readers would like to cook and celebrate with us they will have a chance to access the recipe on Facebook every Thursdays.

I have made the Chocolate Mousse in 2009 and loved every bite of the mousseline. As I said at the time this mousse is one of the best I have ever made, it's decadent, creamy, chocolatey.This time I used a mix of semisweet, dark and Toblerone chocolate. It turns out to have the same creamy texture.

MOUSSELINE AU CHOCOLAT

Ingredients:
4 egg yolks (keep the whites, you will use them later)
3/4 cup instant sugar (I used the extra fine berry sugar)
1/4 cup orange liqueur (I used Triple Sec but I have also made it with Grand Marnier)
6 oz. of semi sweet baking chocolate
4 Tbsp. strong coffee
6 oz. softened unsalted butter cut into cubes
1/4 cup finely diced glazed orange peel (optional, I have never used this)
4 egg whites
Pinch of salt
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
2 cups vanilla flavoured creme anglaise or lightly whipped cream sweetened with powder sugar ( I have always used the whipped cream)

Directions:

Beat the egg yolks and sugar together until mixture is thick, pale yellow, and falls back upon itself forming a slowly dissolving ribbon. Beat in the orange liqueur. Then set mixing bowl over the not-quite-simmering water and continue beating for 3 to 4 minutes until the mixture is foamy and too hot for your finger. Then beat over cold water for 3 to 4 minutes until the mixture is cool again and forms the ribbon. It will have the consistency of mayonnaise.

Melt the chocolate with the coffee over hot water. Remove from the heat and beat in the butter a bit at a time, to make a smooth cream. Beat the chocolate into the egg yolks and sugar, then beat in the optional orange peel.

Beat the egg whites and salt until soft peaks are formed; sprinkle on the sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed, page 159. Stir one fourth of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Fold in the rest.

Turn into serving dish, dessert cups, or petits pots. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Pass the sauce or whipped cream separately.

Excerpted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. Copyright © 1961 by Alfred A. Knopf. Reprinted with permission from the publisher Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.

''Dining with one's friends and beloved family is certainly one of life's primal and most innocent delights, one that is both soul-satisfying and eternal. - Julia Child ''

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